Korean J Pediatr.  2008 Oct;51(10):1071-1076. 10.3345/kjp.2008.51.10.1071.

Clinical usefulness of rapid antigen test to detect respiratory syncytial virus infection

• Kim HS
• Kim HL
• Park KH
• Cho KS

• KMID: 2280314
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2008.51.10.1071

Abstract

PURPOSE: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most frequent cause of lower respiratory infections in infants and young children. Early detection allows quarantining of infected inpatients to prevent nosocomial transmission and to choose a treatment. To achieve rapid reporting, to facilitate prompt antiviral therapy, and to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics, an easy, rapid diagnostic method for RSV is needed. We evaluated a lateral flow immunochromatography (RSV Respi-Strip test) and EIA (Enzyme immuno assay) compared to RT-PCR.
METHODS
From April 2007 to March 2008, 112 consecutive respiratory specimens (nasopharyngeal aspirates, throat swabs, tracheal aspirates, sputum) from patients who were suffering from the clinical signs and symptoms of respiratory tract infection were enrolled in Busan. A total of 112 patients were tested with RSV Respi-Strip (Corio-BioConcept, Belgium), EIA, and RT-PCR at the same time.
RESULTS
Of the 112 specimens tested, the number of children who showed positive results at RT-PCR and Respi-Strip were 45 and 42, respectively. The Respi-Strip rapid antigen test had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 94%. The positive and negative predictive values were 90% and 92%, respectively. The agreement was 83%.
CONCLUSION
In our study, the rapid antigen test had as much sensitivity as any method for detection of RSV. The test has many advantages such as easy performance, simple interpretation, and rapid results. If the rapid antigen test is widely applied in the clinical setting, the may be useful for diagnostic and epidemiological studies of RSV infection.

Keyword

Respiratory syncytial virus; Rapid antigen test

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Child
Humans
Immunochromatography
Infant
Inpatients
Pharynx
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Respiratory Tract Infections
Sensitivity and Specificity
Stress, Psychological
Anti-Bacterial Agents